Mobile Suit Gundam 00S: Crossover Episode 15 (Season Finale)
Chapter 19: The Orbital Catapult *Longshot towed the crippled 00 Raiser into the hanger of The Traveller from the battlefield. While Heero said nothing, Ransac was both enraged and embarrassed that he had lost against Reginald. Not only had he managed to cripple the last Gundam available to them, Zabanya aside, but he had done it almost effortlessly and escaped with barely a scratch on him. It was now the second time he had let the traitor slip through his fingers, and Ransac couldn’t swallow that easily. *“You alright in there?” Asked Jim as he unsealed the cockpit. In the case of a crippled mobile suit the pilots were required to remain inside the cockpit until the chief engineers could determine the extent of the damage and safely bypass any potential problems that could come up with extracting the pilot. *“We’re fine. Sorry about the 00.” Replied Ransac. *“Well at least we’re close to Earth. If this had happened elsewhere we’d be stuck with relying on the Gadelaza, and we still haven’t finished working on it yet.” Ransac knew Jim was trying to soften the blow but it still stung. He knew he had been outmatched out there. *“Jim, we need this machine tied down before we reach the orbital catapult.” Said Syrene, climbing over the chest of the 00 Raiser while speaking. “You ok?” She asked Ransac when she reached the cockpit. *“I’m fine.” Snapped Ransac. “Go help Heero.” He said before kicking away from the 00 Raiser. As he floated, he mentally beat himself. He had not meant to snap at her. He just simply wanted to be left alone for the moment. Heero called out to him when he touched ground. *“Hold on Ransac.” He said. *“What is it Heero?” He replied. *“We both know we were outmatched in that fight, he clearly had the better machine and we were at a disadvantage.” *“I’m aware of this Heero, it still doesn’t help. I’ve faced worse odds then that before.” *“So have I, and I’ve learned that during those times its best not to push others away.” With that Heero turned and went back to the 00 Raiser. *“Good advice.” Mumbled Ransac to himself. He was about to head to his room when he noticed his wrist communicator blinking. He hesitated before opening the channel. *''“We need to talk in private, conference room, tell no one''.” Informed Daryl in a simple text. *''“Now what’s this about?” Wondered Ransac. Usually when Daryl needed to speak with someone he sought them out personally. In addition, Daryl rarely kept those talks secret. It had to be something important for him to do this. His interest caught and unable to disobey the orders, Ransac went to the conference room, making sure nobody saw him as he went. *Ransac entered to find the room darkened, the only light available was coming from the computer screen on the wall. In the corners, he saw Longshot and Daryl waiting for him. *“Thank you for coming here so quick. This isn’t something that should be kept waiting.” Said Daryl. *“What’s this about?” *“We got a message from the ESF command. They want to speak with us.” Answered Longshot. *“About what?” Asked Ransac cautiously, it was rare when the ESF got involved with the goings of The Traveller. When they had first returned to action Daryl had made it clear that should the ESF attempt to interfere with how he ran the ship and performed their operations would not be met kindly. While this had granted them some form of independence, it had made the military wary. *“About recent mysterious circumstances and how best to handle them. In short, the pilots and their machines.” Answered Daryl with a scowl. *“What about them? They’ve shown they’re capable and content with working with us.” *“That’s part of it, with “us”. Most likely, the ESF still considers them rogue elements. Moreover, that is only part of it. More machines and pilots have been appearing, the battle at Ceres proved that much. Also, none of us can deny that those machines possess certain aspects that the ESF believes could be useful.” *Ransac folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “You mean the ZERO System and the Psychoframe, don’t you?” *“For the most part, yes. Those two technologies offer huge advantages, and the ESF is becoming desperate for those in this war. This stalemate needs to end. You can attest to the strengths of both systems, we’ve all seen it in action to some degree.” *“That Unicorn Gundam gave me a challenge and there’s no denying that the ZERO System can give a pilot a powerful boost in the middle of combat, but we’ve also seen how unstable these technologies can be. That ZERO System nearly killed me back at Ceres. And from what I could feel from fighting Banagher, he wasn’t entirely in control of his machine either.” Said Ransac. *“Those are a few of the reasons why we’ve constantly avoided giving away too much information about those two systems. They are dangerous. If the ESF decides to start mass producing systems and equipment like that it could prove more hazardous than advantageous. And what if they started combining the two? There’s no telling what such a combination could do, with or without the additional factor of GN Particles.” Not to mention we know so little of them ourselves as it is. Said Daryl. *“So what are we going to do once we reach Earth? It will be harder to keep those secret while we’re repairing them. Wing Zero definitely needs an overhaul and Amuro has been asking for his machine to be upgraded as well.” Said Longshot. *“Strafe is doing his best to maintain the continued secrecy of those designs. But we’re going to have to be even more cautious on Earth than we have been in space. For now, our allies may be more dangerous than our enemies. Remember this conversation when we reach Earth. The military council wants to speak with us the moment we arrive.” *“Will Commander Daryl please return to the bridge? We are approaching the Orbital Catapult, estimated ETA: one minute.”'' *“Don’t tell anyone this meeting. I suggest you prepare yourself, from what I’ve heard the Orbital Catapult is anything but a comfy ride.” Said Daryl. After that, the meeting ended, leaving Ransac and Longshot to head back to the hanger. *“We finally get to see the Orbital Catapult.” Said Longshot after a while. *“Heard it’s rather impressive, but I wonder why The Ascent have never bothered to attack it. You’d think that a station that gives the ESF a quick means of sending forces back and forth would be their first target.” Said Ransac. *“Who knows?” Said Longshot with a shrug. *The Orbital Catapult was a massive space station constructed over Mars before the War against The Ascent began. Initially it was constructed to help send supplies to planned colonies, but when the Ascent began their crusade, it quickly shifted to troop transport. *The Orbital Catapult utilized one massive linear catapult to launch ships over vast distances rapidly. The technology was the same used by most mobile suit carriers to deploy their forces, but on a far larger scale. The Orbital Catapult easily took out several weeks of travel, reducing it to only an hour’s trek between Earth and Mars. *“About time you two got here! Ransac, we have a spare Alteron, I know you hate piloting one of them but hopefully you’ll just be sitting in it.” Called Jim. Around him pilots were climbing into their mobile suits, a standard procedure during a moment of transit outside of Quantization. The mobile suits were prepped to deploy within a moment’s notice. *“Good luck, kid.” Said Longshot as he went to Zabanya. He gave a slight chuckle as he turned his back. *“An Alteron, excellent.” Sighed Ransac sarcastically. While the Alteron was a reliable suit, it wasn’t a Gundam. It had lesser performance compared to most machines he had flown, and in his own view, it looked far less impressive. *''“All personnel prepare for docking with the Orbital Catapult. We will be launching in forty seconds.” ''Warned Daryl over the intercom. By the time he had finished speaking, all the pilots had made their way into their machines. Ransac reluctantly sealed his cockpit. *The Traveller gave a great shudder as the electromagnetic stabilizers of the Orbital Catapult grabbed a hold. Ransac tensed slightly within the cockpit of the Alteron, it was like the same feeling you get when you are on a roller coaster and you know it’s about to launch to full speed. *''“Launching in 3…2…1…LAUNCH!” ''The ship suddenly shot forward. Everything not bolted down in the hanger suddenly went flying as the sudden acceleration tore its way through. Even the pilots struggled to hang on inside their cockpits. Ransac was nearly thrown shoulder first over the right side of his monitors from the sudden change. It was only through intense struggle that he managed to keep himself planted. *''“May I never have to go through that again.”'' He prayed once things settled down. With hesitation, he unsealed his cockpit at the OK sign. While shaken, it was obvious he was the better off out of the pilots. Nobody aboard the ship knew what exactly to expect and most seemed to have been taken by surprise despite the warning. Some had bruises and cuts, most likely from being tossed around inside the cockpit or being thrown out of their seat over the edge. *“That was the most horrible roller coaster I’ve ever been on! When can we do it again?” Joked Jim weakly as he floated out of the engineer safety zone. Most of the engineers who followed sported similar injures to the pilots, though usually less severe. *“Right after you move into the airlock.” Snapped Longshot as he crawled out of Zabanya. *“Longshot! No need to be harsh!” Snapped Jim. Longshot grumbled as he passed. Ransac simply shook his head and floated to Syrene. *“Well, we’re on our way back home.” He said. *“It has been a while. It’ll be good to finally touch down on solid ground.” Sighed Syrene cheerfully. Out of all the crew, Syrene had most missed the Earth. When they had arrived on Mars, Ransac suspected that had only increased her feelings of homesickness even more. However privately he wasn’t too eager to return to home. *For him, Earth had changed since they had gone into cold sleep eighty-nine years ago. He knew that was to be expected, but back then, war had finally begun the change from horrible truth to a fading memory. Now it had returned in full force and it was obvious neither side had any intention of losing, no matter the cost. For The Ascent, it was a matter of settling a long nourished grudge over their exile. To the ESF, it was about destroying monsters who sought only the complete annihilation of the Earth. *Ransac had fought in the war long enough to know that that wasn’t the case, at least not with everyone. Some pilots had displayed discontent with the war itself, wishing only that both sides would come to some agreement so peace could return. And, despite their efforts in defeating The Ascent, very few of the crew of The Traveller held any real hatred of the enemy. Most saw it as an unfortunate result of the turbulence created before the abolishment of the A-LAWS and The Innovators. It was a sadness that filled people such as Ransac and Syrene, people who still knew what it was like before the peace with the ELS. *''“The Traveller is on course for Earth, estimated ETA: 1 hour.”'' *“I’m going to get some rest.” Said Ransac. *“Good luck, most of the ship is going to be busy. I guess I’ll be seeing you later.” Said Syrene. She winked as she spoke and turned away with a grin before going back to work. Chapter 20: Earth *'“All hands prepare for docking with the orbital elevator station.”' Blared the intercom. Ransac woke with a start and if not for the lack of gravity, would have fallen onto the floor. As it were, he simply struggled to unwrap himself from his covers while hovering over his bed. His struggles ended when the private com on his desk began blinking, indicating an incoming call. Still trapped in his sheets, Ransac verbally opened the com. *“Glad to see you’re awake, we’re docking with the orbital station. I want you to give our friends a tour before we meet up with Strafe in an hour.” Said Daryl. *“We’re meeting Strafe? I thought he was busy.” A few days back the group had been in contact with Strafe. *A former Star Strike Gundam Meister, Strafe had for years taken over the group’s secret public cover, Mobile Suit Incorporated. As an Innovade, he had a virtually limitless lifespan and had used this to ensure the continued advancement of mobile suits and a constant stream of supplies and equipment for Star Strike while simultaneously supplying the Earth Sphere Federation with mobile suits. When they had spoken last, Strafe had hinted of a top-secret project he had been working on. He refused to go into specifics, leaving most of the crew curious. *“He tells me Project: Aero is near completion and he has time to spare while we’re on Earth.” *“Must be bad business for Mobile Suit Inc if he’s got time to spare.” Chuckled Ransac. *“On the contrary, Strafe tells me the new Xeros machines are in mass production; a few of them are outside the ship even as we speak.” *“I thought they were atmosphere based?” *“They were designed for different armors depending on the environment. This happens to be their space variant. I’ll admit, these new machines are impressive to see, they may not be front line machines, but they do their job well.” Daryl cleared his throat before speaking again, “We’re getting off course, I must return to my duties, I’ll meet up with your group in an hour at the base of the Orbital Elevator. Daryl out.” *Free from the conversation, Ransac once again resumed his battle with the sheets. He met success and was flung across the room. With a swift thrust of his leg, he managed to halt his momentum and land safely on the floor. *“Nearly killed by the blankets. That’ll be a new one.” Chuckled Ransac to himself. He began changing into his civilian clothing, sinking into thought as he did. *He was curious on how the others would react to seeing Earth. Based off of their machines, it was evident few of them actually had GN Drive technology, and none of them showed signs of knowing the ELS, but aside from that he didn’t know much of their versions of Earth. Would they be impressed? Saddened? Either way he wanted to know their reactions. *“Well, we’re home at the least. Time for the tour.” *A few minutes later and Ransac, Heero, Amuro, Charlie, and Ash were departing a shuttle on the Orbital Elevator. Syrene had wanted to join them but according to Jim, they had jobs to finish. True Guardian and Wing Zero still needed to be secured before moving them onto the surface, a job that required the both of them to pull off in time for meeting with Strafe. Ransac had watched in disappointment as the pair was denied yet again time off the ship together. *“So this is the orbital elevator huh? I’ll admit, pretty nice up here.” Said Amuro. *“View’s pretty good.” Said Charlie, looking down on Earth through the windows. *“Guys, I think someone’s waving to us. Is that…? It’s Elizabeth.” Said Ash. Without another word, he broke off from the group to embrace his sister. *“Looks you guys just beat us here.” Said Kira as the two groups converged. *“Just got off the shuttle. So is this everyone?” Asked Ransac. He made two visual sweeps through the crowd, looking for someone as he spoke. He didn’t find who he was looking for. *“You mean is Milliardo here, right? His group is already on their way down. Seems he had his own means of reaching the surface.” Said Athrun. *“That’s Milliardo for you, completely goes around public transport if it means doing his own thing. Please tell me he didn’t go atmosphere diving.” Sighed Ransac. *“I think he was taking a private shuttle. He would have been spotted if he did something reckless wouldn’t he?” *“You obviously haven’t spent enough time around him.” Chuckled Ransac. Knowing Milliardo, he could do the craziest thing and remain completely undetected. After all, he had hid an entire colony in the middle of a war zone. “Well, anyway, welcome to Earth. I’m not sure how it stands up to your homes, but here it is.” *“Thank you for the kind welcome. We hope not to be too much of a burden while we’re here.” Said Lacus. *“Not much of a burden if we’re allies, right? Glad we could be of help.” Replied Ransac. “Now, time to hit the train. I have some walking to do, and I can’t do that in low gravity.” With that, he motioned the others to follow him. A few minutes later, and the group had their passports and were riding the linear train down. *The group became visibly cheered as they landed on the surface. For the first time in what felt like ages, they were finally on solid ground. On the way down the group had spoken about plans they had during their break. The plans were many but all spoke of some form of relaxation. Ransac smiled as he listened. The group was finally in a place where the war seemed distant, not a common intrusion on life. It was a strange feeling for him, but one he had always sought to make the most of. *The conversation continued as Ransac began purchasing transportation, in this case, a bus under rent. While he spoke with the transportation department, Lacus continued talking about her plans. *“I read there’s a beautiful garden in the desert grown by a woman named Marina Ismail before she passed away. The pictures looked beautiful, I hope to see the actual location though, the flowers there we so many!” *“I know that place, Setsuna visited there after his return to Earth. He showed me a picture he and Marina had taken; it did look nice there.” Said Ransac after finishing the last details for their tour. *“Do you think we could visit?” Asked Lacus enthusiastically. *“We’re a bit far from the desert, but if I can get us passage to the Ismail Memorial Garden, then sure. It’d be nice to visit. But in the meantime, we have a bus to take.” *The group found their bus parked nearby outside the station. At first, the group had wondered who their driver would be, until they spotted Longshot wearing his green trench coat and a light blue cap. *“I didn’t know you could drive a bus.” Said Ransac as the group began climbing aboard. *“I can pilot a mobile suit, snipe a machine miles away with perfect accuracy, and you thought I couldn’t drive?” *“And yet Syrene still won’t let me drive a car.” Sighed Ransac before climbing aboard. Longshot gave a loud bark of laughter before following. *“So Mr. Driver, where are we headed?” Asked Charlie. *“To the harbor. The Traveller has been docked there and unfortunately, we’re running out of time. Ransac, Strafe wants to speak to you before you meet the war council.” *“You’re kidding, they want that done today? We just arrived!” *“No rest for the wicked it seems.” *“Well, at least we get to see Strafe.” Sighed Ransac, leaning his head on the back of the seat in front of him. It was going to be a long day. Chapter 21: War Council *The ride was uneventful outside of a few questions from the pilots concerning locations and events, most of them expressed special interest in the difference between their reality and the one they were in now. It was easy enough to understand, it gave some measure of standard to base their new environment. Ransac did his best to give satisfactory answers, which were limited by being cut off from the world for 89 years. *After answering a series of questions from Lacus, Ransac noticed that they had already arrived at the harbor. He took in the sight of the sea, something he hadn’t seen in a very long time. His attention turned from the sea as he saw Syrene and Jim waving them down, standing behind them was Strafe Lenardo, who seemed to be in deep conversation with Daryl. He turned and smiled as he saw the bus pull next to them. Ransac quickly made his way off the bus, eager to reunite with their long time ally and friend. *“Well well, it has been a while, Ransac.” Said Strafe, a grin on his face. *“Long time no see; you still don’t look a day older.” Chuckled Ransac. Behind him, Ransac heard someone cough. Realizing his error, he began introducing everyone. “Everyone, this is Strafe Lenardo, Strafe, I’ll leave it to you to figure out names.” *“I look forward to the challenge, now four of you I know by name, but beyond that you’ll have to forgive me.” It was Daryl’s turn to cough this time. *“I’m afraid we’re short on time, Ransac, you and the others need to come with me. Strafe, I’ve enjoyed having our conversation, let’s hope we can meet again after this.” *“That may be easier than you realize, you see, I don’t exactly intend to simply fall back into shuffling papers behind the scenes. I was hoping you would accept me as a member of the crew once again. It’s been far too long since I’ve been in on the action. *“Sounds like the old band is getting back together.” Chuckled Longshot as he took off his cap. *“It would be great to have you back on the ship, Strafe!” Said Syrene. *“Well, I certainly have no complaints, welcome back to the team.” Said Daryl, “I trust Syrene and Jim can help you get settled? We have to go, now.” With that, he waved the group over and began walking. *“Now for the fun part of this reunion…” Sighed Ransac. *As they made their way to the chamber the war council had set up within the hanger, the group became increasingly solemn. The others seemed to know as well as Ransac and Daryl how important this meeting would be for their futures. *“Just follow my lead, don’t speak unless spoken too.” Warned Daryl as he approached two guards who were positioned on either side of a door. With a salute, the men stood aside and allowed entrance. *''“Here we go.”'' Thought Ransac as they entered. *The room was a large circular chamber with a staircase on either side that lead to rows of hastily placed seats. Sitting in plain view of the door were thirteen people, 7 men and 6 women. Twelve of them had their uniforms heavily decorated with medals. With rising curiosity, Ransac took notice of the 13th, who he recognized as the president of the Earth Sphere Federation. *''“What is he doing here?”'' He wondered, it was rare for the president to show up for a simple meeting; obviously this was something much greater than they had initially understood. One of the 12 military officers stood up. *“Welcome Daryl, Ransac, Heero, Charlie, and Ash. We’ve long wanted to meet you. *“Thank you, Admiral Vorn; it is an honor to meet so many dignified members of the military.” Replied Daryl. *“Enough talk, down to business.” Snapped one of the men present, his fellows gave signs of irritation at the lack of formality but went along with the demand. *“Our first order of business is the battle that took place within the Mars Asteroid Belt. We currently understand the Ascent deployed several new machines, and in addition a mysterious group we have yet to identify has demonstrated new technologies we were unaware of.” *“You have been given my full report on the matter.” Replied Daryl evenly. *One of the members of the delegation lifted their copy of the report for Daryl to see. “Indeed we do, however I find several pieces of vital information seemingly forgotten or ignored in your report. For example, several of your pilots expressed the belief that the pilots of the GNSS-TD/NR-4 True Guardian and the machine under the designation, RX-93-v2 Hi-v Gundam expressed familiarity with the enemy pilots. I hope you can shed some light on that. *“While we initially believed to have recognized two of the enemy pilots, we still don’t have concrete proof that these pilots are necessarily who we believe them to be. To be honest if one of them was, it would border on divine intervention to be true as we can confirm one of them died over 89 years ago, shortly before the conflict with the ELS. If you doubt my word, you can ask Setsuna F. Seiei, as he was the one who dealt the killing blow to Ribbons Almark. *“I assure you we will.” Said the same man who had snapped at everyone earlier. *“This Ribbons Almark, our reports say he was using a machine that was believed to be in Star Strike possession, how is it he acquired this machine?” Demanded someone. *“As to that, I assure you we are trying our very best to find that very answer, the machine in question was under extremely tight security.” Answered Daryl. As he spoke Ransac noticed the eyes of the president boring into him. He locked his gaze with the president, and suddenly experienced the feeling of drowning in a sea so cold no words could possibly describe the sensation. Sudden agony tore through him, but despite his best efforts, he found himself of expressing even the slightest change, his entire body seemed to have become separate from himself. *The sensation passed as suddenly as it had started and the president stood up. With a start Ransac realized the others seemed to have experienced something very similar, with breathing suddenly becoming thicker *“I believe we are avoiding the key reason we are all here gentlemen. Daryl, you are currently in possession of technology never before seen by the Earth Sphere Federation. The Ascent also seems to have possession of this technology. Therefore, I must beg that you surrender the source of that technology, the Hi-v and Wing Zero Gundam’s respectively. *“With all due respect, I must decline that request. The technology in question is to unstable and uncertain to be handed over without risking becoming a hazard to the military.” Replied Daryl. He spoke with a finality that sounded clearly within the room. The president sighed. *“I’m afraid that wasn’t a request.” Suddenly the room was flooded with soldiers, each bearing arms against Daryl and the group. *“What is this? You can’t do this; he’s been a valuable…” *“Shut up you old fool.” Snarled the president. Suddenly the entire war council passed out, the guards themselves seemed either unaware or uncaring of the sudden change. *“What’s going on here?” Demanded Daryl who for the first time expressed uncertainty. *“You have become very dangerous to my plans. I regret having to do this, but my hand was forced the moment those pilots entered the scene.” The president now spoke with a low, dangerous voice. At the same time, Ransac noticed the shadow of the president began twisting and warping into something else. This wasn’t the president. *“Who are you?” He demanded. *“Who I am is none of your concern.” Snarled the man. Suddenly, as if struck by some unseen force, Ransac was sent flying into the wall; his impact was such that he left a crater in the wall. “And don’t you dare speak to me like that again, to me you are nothing.” *“What do you want with us?” Asked Daryl. *“Are you that simple, it’s obvious isn’t it? I want you out of my way, and since you seem determined to get in my path, I am left with only one option.” *“We don’t even know who you are…” Started Daryl. *“SILENCE!” This time Daryl was sent flying to the wall. His impact was softened as Heero threw himself in his path, causing Daryl to smash into him as they collided with the wall. Ransac slowly climbed to his feet. *“Big mistake.” He snarled as he threw himself at the mysterious being. The man gave a feral grin and suddenly Ransac’s lunge was halted in mid air. *“You just don’t learn, do you? Enough games, men, kill them all.” The guards sprang to life, as if by one mind they all opened fire. The group immediately exploded into action. Ash dove under the gun fire, sweeping with his leg to take down several guards at once. Amuro dove to the right, drawing his gun and firing rapidly. Charlie drew a knife and attempted to repeat what Ransac had started, immediately lunging at the man. *In horror, Ransac watched as Charlie was caught the same way he was, trapped floating in the air by some unseen force. The guards immediately turned their attention to Charlie and opened fire. He gave one cry as he was pummeled by repeated gun fire. Charlie dropped to the floor with a loud thud. He struggled to lift himself, but collapsed into his rapidly draining life fluids. *“You…bastard.” He said defiantly before finally collapsing to the ground, he gave one rattling breath then moved no more. *“CHARLIE!” Roared Ransac as he began struggling against whatever was keeping him suspended. *“GO, EVERYONE RUN!” Roared Daryl as he opened fire with two pistols on the mysterious man. His expression became horror as the bullets stopped suddenly in front of the target. Two of the bullets suddenly exploded back towards their source, striking Daryl in the leg and shoulder. *Amuro leapt over to Charlie, sweeping his body onto his shoulder with ease before dashing for the doorway. The guards attempted to shoot him down but a team effort by Ash and Heero took most of them down, having thrown several chairs at once. *“GO!” Repeated Daryl as Heero hesitated, obviously wanting to help the two. Without a word he nodded and took off in pursuit of Ash and Amuro. *“Follow them, do not let them escape.” Snarled the man, “as for you two…” With a sweep of his arm both Ransac and Daryl suddenly lost consciousness. Chapter 22: Escape *Syrene had just finished inspecting the ship when suddenly Amuro carrying Charlie, Heero, and Ash explode into the hanger at full run. *“GET THE SHIP READY, WE NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!” Shouted Amuro as a horde of guards suddenly began flooding the hanger, all firing at the fleeing group. With a nod she immediately set to work, swinging herself into an airlock into a full run. *“ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, REPEAT, ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!” She shouted over the intercom the moment she found a terminal. Within moments the entire ship exploded into activity, alarms loudly blaring as the ship entered full alert. With panic rising in her chest she realized Ransac and Daryl were missing from the group. *“Where are they?” She demanded to Amuro. *“There was nothing we could do, they ordered us to escape while we still could.” Gasped Amuro between breaths, handing Charlie’s body to medics who had arrived. Ash leapt aboard after firing several gunshots into the horde below them before the bulkheads sealed shut. *“You left them behind?!” *“You have no idea what we were up against, but we need to leave now!” Snapped Ash as he rushed towards the hanger. *''“Syrene, we need you on the bridge!”'' Came Strafe through the intercom. Torn between duty and the powerful numbness rising inside her, Syrene took for the bridge as if some mechanical impulse had simply taken over. *“Phoenix Squad, get out there! Cover us as we escape, that goes for all units!” Barked Strafe into the com system, the bridge was in a flurry of action as people struggled to hastily prep The Traveller for sudden launch. “Just what the hell is going on Syrene?” He demanded. *“They said they were told to escape, something happened.” *“Obviously something happened, where is Daryl? We need him!” *“He…didn’t make it.” Said Syrene quietly, tears began forming in her eyes. The statement took Strafe by surprise and for a moment his expression faltered. *“We’ll mourn them later, but now we need to focus on getting out of here first.” *“STAGE 3 FLIGHT PREPERATIONS COMPLETE, WE ARE READY TO GO, SIR!” Announced one of the crew. *“Alright, let’s go! Maximum thrust, give it everything we got!” The Traveller gave a mighty rumble as it came to life. With a loud roar, the engines exploded into full power. The ship surged forward, carving straight through the water as if air. *The moment they cleared the water the area became under attack by a swarm of mobile suits. Behind the approaching swarm were two carrier ships which had begun to open fire. *“ASO! Taking off!” Announced Ash as he took off down the catapult. *“I’m going too!” Said Amuro as he followed close behind. *Ash and Amuro managed to have a good start, but it quickly became apparent they were hopelessly outnumbered. Even Phoenix Squad struggled to survive the onslaught. *“All units, use magnetic clamps to anchor yourself to the ship, we only have one shot at escape!” He ordered. If this kept up they would quickly become overwhelmed and escape would become impossible. Every mobile suit under the command of The Traveller immediately followed orders, securing themselves as best they could on the hull. *“Here we go, ACTIVATE TRANS AM SYSTEM! DEVOTE ALL GN PARTICLES INTO MAXIMUM FORWARD THRUST! DUMP THE GN FURNACE IF YOU HAVE TO JUST GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” *The Traveller flashed a brilliant crimson and shot off like a bullet. GN Particles flowed from the rear of the ship as if a massive dam had just burst open, almost entirely blocking view of the ship from behind. *“Where do we go from here, sir?” Asked one of the crew the moment they were certain they were a safe distance from the enemy. Strafe folded his arms in deep thought. *“There is only one safe place at our disposal. Set course for the following coordinates, deploy all stealth capability we have, I want no one to follow us where we’re going.” *“So, we are now traitors to the Earth Sphere Federation and likely will be hunted down at all costs. We've lost both Daryl, Ransac, and Charlie. What are we going to do, Strafe?” Asked Syrene, struggling not to let her turbulent emotions burst. *“We’re going to make them pay.” Was all Strafe said. END OF SEASON ONE